ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is a disorder of pancreatic beta-cells characterized by inappropriate secretion of insulin leading to hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia. Insulin secretion is a complex, genetically regulated process. Mutations in several genes known to regulate insulin secretion result in CHI. Recently, non-coding mutations in HK1, which cause the aberrant expression of hexokinase 1 (HK1) in beta cells, have been reported as a novel c...

Background: Congenital hyperinsulinism (HI) is characterised by inappropriate insulin secretion despite low blood glucose which is commonly diagnosed in infancy (before the age of 12 months). Screening of the >20 known genes identifies a mutation in over 45% of cases. The likelihood of identifying a mutation in a known gene in individuals diagnosed after 12 months is not currently known.Aim: We aimed to identify the ...

SHOX deficiency causes a spectrum of clinical phenotypes related to skeletal dysplasia and short stature, including Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis, Langer mesomelic dysplasia, Turner syndrome, and idiopathic short stature. SHOX controls chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation, bone maturation, cellular growth arrest and apoptosis via transcriptional regulation of its direct target genes NPPB, FGFR3, and CTGF. However, our u...

Background: Children born small for gestational age (SGA) are predisposed to metabolic abnormalities. While the therapeutic benefit of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) therapy in improving height is widely recognised, it can affect carbohydrate metabolism, potentially inducing diabetes.Objective and hypotheses: This ongoing, prospective study aims to evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of Omnitrope® (somatropin) in children ...

Background: In Nigeria, where malaria is endemic, hypertension is common. We reported that exposure to maternal malaria resulted in smaller babies with lower BP at birth, but a greater change (Δ) in BP to 12 months of age.Objective and hypotheses: To now present BP measurements out to 3 years of age.Method: Height, weight, and blood pressure (BP) were measured on 164 babies (75 males and 89 females) at birth, 12, 24, and 36 mo...

Background: We have previously shown in a randomised controlled trial that moderate-intensity exercise over the last 20 weeks of gestation in healthy nulliparous women led to a birth weight reduction of approximately 250 g.Objective and hypotheses: We aimed to assess the long-term effects of exercise in pregnancy on anthropometry and body composition in mothers and offspring 7 years after the intervention. We hypothesized that women who exercised in preg...

Background: Maternal overweight/obesity during pregnancy and excessive gestational weight gain (GWtG) have been recognized as important early-life risk factors for childhood obesity. We aimed to examine whether maternal BMI at 20 weeks of gestation and excessive GWtG were associated with alterations in body composition and metabolism in childhood in the offspring of primiparous mothers who participated in a randomised controlled trial of exercise regimen during pregnancy.<...

Background: Long-term glucocorticoid therapy with Prednisolone or Deflazacort has improved outcomes in patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), however recommended dosages suppress the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, leading to adrenal insufficiency. All boys prescribed glucocorticoid therapy should be assumed to have adrenal suppression, and therefore at risk of adrenal crisis during illness or stress (eg. surgery, bisphosphonate infusions). The ...

Introduction: The prevalence of diabetes in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) exceeds 12%. Monitoring of HbA1c is standard of care to assess diabetes control but assay reliability requires high precision and standardization to either DCCT or IFCC values and results should be monitored through proficiency testing (PT). In T&T a developing country there is no existing data on HbA1c precision and accuracy. Johns Hopkins Medicine International and the Diabetes Diagnostic Laborator...

Background: The COVID-19 crisis required paediatric endocrinologists to rapidly adopt telehealth into their clinical practice. Accurate auxology is a cornerstone of paediatric endocrinology care and is needed to monitor growth and guide medication changes. Remote consultations depend upon parent-reported measurements. However, home height measurements are often inaccurate.Aim: We designed a quality improvement study with...